Lockdown lifted at Little Rock Air Force Base

by The Associated Press

Security personnel run past a C-130 aircraft on static display at the front gate of Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, Ark., Wednesday, July 23, 2014. The base has been on lockdown since late morning Wednesday. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

JACKSONVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Military officials who shuttered the Little Rock Air Force Base say they have lifted the lockdown after determining that any threat to personnel was no longer credible.

Col. Patrick Rhatigan of the 19th Airlift Wing said Wednesday's lockdown was necessary to secure airmen, their families and Air Force facilities. The wing commander said that, after a search of the base, the report of a "suspicious individual" was no longer credible.

In a statement, he apologized for the inconvenience of the shutdown, which lasted nearly five hours. He did not say what prompted the alarm.

The base had been conducting emergency response exercises but base officials said Wednesday's incident was not part of the drill.

The air base is a major training site for personnel assigned to the C-130 cargo planes.